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Committee declines to pursue $26,800 concept plan for second elevator without defined use
Summary
Building management proposed a $26,800 concept plan from White and Company to study adding a second elevator or an ADA lift in Building A; several committee members said they would not support spending money or staff time until the board agrees a specific future use or budget.
Chair Chris Kias convened discussion of a White and Company concept plan after Roger Fonstock reported that Building A’s elevator had been repaired and that some purchase orders for the repair totaled about $248,000. Fonstock said White and Company would prepare a concept plan — a feasibility and structural study with an engineering estimate — for $26,800 to explore adding either a full elevator or an ADA lift to the building.
Roger Fonstock said the $26,800 concept plan would provide an engineering estimate and likely show whether an outside-attached elevator or an internal option was feasible. He cautioned that fully rebuilding an elevator can cost hundreds of thousands to more than $1 million depending on scope.
Several committee members immediately opposed proceeding. “I will not be supporting this,” Miss Gumbs said, adding that the committee and county do not have the funds and that “an elevator certainly isn’t in the plan to spend.” Kim Young said other buildings were doing fine with one elevator and that the committee should not spend time on the idea now. Another member asked whether staff time or other costs had already been incurred; Fonstock said staff had spent under 10 hours on exploratory work.
Juvy and others argued that individual board members should not direct staff to pursue projects without committee approval and that requests that would lead to capital or land-use costs should be routed through the administration committee. Fonstock recommended that members with requests place them on the committee agenda so staff and the committee could vet them formally. He also said operational repairs under $30,000 would be handled through normal service desk processes.
With those concerns, the committee did not direct staff to proceed with the White and Company concept plan. Committee members said any future request to study a second elevator should come with a clear proposed use and budget authorization before staff incur design or engineering costs. The chair closed the discussion by asking that such proposals be placed on the agenda for formal committee consideration.
The committee’s next steps: no authorization to spend the $26,800 concept-plan funds was approved; if a member or committee later proposes a specific project and budgets for it, the administration committee said it would consider a feasibility study at that time.
